Peninsula: Please, I only want to talk about ordinary people.

Chapter 36 I like Mina

"Oh no, I'm not going!"

Sana Minatozaki, carrying a plate, had her feet planted firmly on the floor as Mina Mina pushed her forward from behind.

When she was getting her food, she thought Jiang Yongtai and Yu Dingyan had finished their interview and left. But when she turned around with a plate full of fried chicken, she saw that familiar figure sitting opposite Yu Dingyan.

"Jeongyeon unnie, all your guests are having dinner with him, but you're the MC of the show and you're going elsewhere. What are you expecting them to think?"

Mina nudged her back gently with her elbow and tilted her head toward Nayeon and the others.

"Besides, you'll be seeing him often in the future, so why worry about this one meal? Let's go!"

Sana Minato bit her lower lip, knowing that every word Mina said made sense and left her speechless, so she could only keep a cold face.

"Alas! Stop pushing me, I can walk by myself."

Mina smiled, withdrew her hand, and the two walked over one after the other.

Yu Dingyan caught a glimpse of them out of the corner of her eye, and quickly looked up, her expression as if she had been waiting for her long-awaited reinforcements to finally arrive.

"Sana! Mina! Come sit here."

She breathed a quiet sigh of relief, even though Jiang Yongtai had been very polite throughout their time together.

But having dinner alone face-to-face with a stranger she had only known for less than two hours was still a bit stressful for her.

When Jiang Yongtai heard her greet him, he turned around and looked back.

Sana Minatozaki stood behind him, her face expressionless. Mina Mei stood beside her, holding a plate, a faint smile playing on her lips.

Sana Minatozaki didn't look at him, and said in a flat tone, "PD Kang, can we sit here?"

Although she was asking him, she didn't seem to be seeking his consent. She walked right past him and sat down next to Yu Dingyan.

Minami smiled and nodded at Kang Young-tae.

"PD Kang, may I sit here?"

Jiang Yongtai glanced at her, knowing that she didn't want to expose their private relationship in front of Sha Xia—at least not yet.

He smiled and replied, "Sure, Mina xi."

"Thanks."

Mina sat down next to him, set out her plate, and picked up her chopsticks.

Jiang Yongtai turned to Sha Xia and nodded.

"Sana xi".

"Yes, PD."

Sana Minatozaki's voice remained calm as she poked a piece of fried chicken with her chopsticks.

Yu Dingyan's gaze lingered on her face for a moment, and his brows furrowed slightly.

She knows Minatozaki Sana too well. Sana never treats strangers like this. Even if she's in a bad mood, she should be the one with the sweetest smile in front of outsiders.

Was she tired from practicing earlier, or was there some kind of beef between her and Jiang Yongtai?

She turned her head and asked in a low voice, "Sana, are you feeling unwell today?"

Sana Minato paused, realizing that her attitude toward Kang Young-tae had aroused Yoo Jeong-yeon's suspicion.

She took a deep breath, suppressed her anger, and smiled again as she turned to Yu Dingyan, her voice slightly coquettish.

"No, it's just that practice was too tiring~"

After speaking, she turned to Kang Young-tae, her voice sweet, "PD-nim, isn't our food delicious?"

Hearing this tone, Yu Dingyan nodded slightly.

This is the usual Sana.

She dismissed her doubts and lowered her head to eat again, unaware that when Sana Minatozaki turned to Yong-tae, her crescent-shaped eyes conveyed a signal—

"Hey, give me a makeover!"

Jiang Yongtai understood her meaning, gave a wry smile to himself, but cooperated flawlessly.

"Yes, it's delicious."

Then he glanced down at the pile of fried chicken nuggets on her plate and added casually.

"Isn't Sana-xi about to make a comeback? Is it really okay for her to take so many fried chicken nuggets?"

Mina was quietly eating her food nearby, but her peripheral vision was constantly focused on the interaction between the two.

Upon hearing this, the chopsticks paused slightly, and the person couldn't help but lower their head and chuckle softly.

Sana Minatozaki kicked her under the table, then turned to look at Kang Young-tae, a smile on her lips, but her voice was clenched tightly:

"Well, it's nothing to eat it once in a while, thank you for your concern, PD-nim~"

Jiang Yongtai nodded without responding, and lowered his head to continue eating the remaining food on his plate.

Mina watched his reaction from the side and pouted slightly.

This isn't the effect I wanted...

She put her chopsticks down on the edge of her plate, a smile returning to her face as she looked at Jiang Yongtai.

"Did you work as an assistant PD at Music Bank before?"

Jiang Yongtai was stunned for a moment, then looked up at her.

Nanjiang already knows, why are you asking this?

However, he nodded nonetheless: "Yes, I worked as an assistant PD at Einbank for a while before."

Upon hearing this, Yu Dingyan also looked up, somewhat surprised.

"Really? I don't remember PD-nim at all?"

Jiang Yongtai is so conspicuous, I shouldn't have failed to notice him.

Sana Minato's chopsticks froze in mid-air. She suddenly looked up and glared at Mina, realizing that she was about to bring up the topic of her conversation with Tzuyu in the practice room.

Mina, don't talk nonsense!

Mina ignored her death stare and continued speaking.

"It was Tzuyu who reminded me that made me remember. Tzuyu said that PD-nim gave us a lot of snacks back then, and we thought PD-nim was Once~"

She raised an eyebrow slightly and looked at Jiang Yongtai, who seemed a little confused.

"But why did PD-nim say it was our first meeting? Did he stop being a fan?"

"……Well."

Jiang Yongtai looked at her and gave her a look that seemed to say, "Nan-chan, what exactly do you want?"

Yu Dingyan was unaware of the complicated relationship between them, but when she heard what Ming Jingnan said, her memories were stirred up.

"Ah, indeed, an assistant PD brought us a lot of snacks. So that person was PD-nim."

The same question appeared on her face: "Did PD really switch allegiances?"

When Sana Minato saw that Jeongyeon Yoo had also joined the fray, she realized that she had been tricked by Mina and there was no way to stop the conversation now.

She had no choice but to turn her gaze to Jiang Yongtai, glaring at him with her eyes saying, "You better talk to me properly!"

Jiang Yongtai glanced at the expressions on the three people's faces and knew that this issue could not be avoided today. He gave a wry smile and tried to smooth things over.

"I did not climb the wall, I really am Once. I said that earlier because I didn't want to cause you any trouble."

Back then, I was just a fan, expressing my affection for you guys by sending you snacks.

"Wow—I didn't expect PD-nim to really be Once. Is he still Once now?"

Yu Dingyan asked, her eyes shining.

Jiang Yongtai glanced involuntarily at Minatozaki Sana and nodded.

"Inside, it still is."

Upon hearing this, Yoo Jeongyeon excitedly turned around and shouted towards Lim Nayeon:

"Kids! PD Kang Young-tae is Once!"

"real?!"

Lim Na-yeon and the others all looked up at each other.

Hirai Momo still had half a piece of fried chicken in her mouth, her eyes wide open, while Son Chaeyoung lifted her face from her rice bowl, rice grains still stuck to the corners of her mouth.

Chou Tzu-yu also put down her chopsticks and looked over at us seriously.

Jiang Yongtai was suddenly stared at by several pairs of eyes, so he could only awkwardly raise his hand and wave.

"Inside is Once."

Lim Nayeon laughed at his somewhat unnatural expression.

"PD-nim doesn't seem like he's meeting his idol at all. But... since it's Once, who's your favorite member of TWICE?"

All eyes turned to Jiang Yongtai's face again, and Mina, who was next to him, turned her head and smiled as she waited for his answer.

She had already planned out the options for him in her mind.

Even though they've broken up and are clearly not getting along, they'll still talk about Sana, right?

After all, Sana is the main MC of his show, so this answer is reasonable.

Then there's Yoo Jeongyeon, whom I've only known for a short time, and then there's Momo, who just praised him for being handsome...

Before she could even process what was happening, Kang Young-tae was already smiling and looking at Lim Na-yeon without the slightest hesitation.

"Nayeon-ssi, I like Mina-ssi."

Mina's smile seemed to freeze when she heard those words.

What is Yongtai-san saying? Shouldn't he be answering Sana? How could it be... her?

Lin Na-yeon, standing nearby, had already started making a fuss, her two signature rabbit teeth showing as she laughed so hard she almost fell over.

"So, PD Kang is now a fan! Mina even had lunch with you, what a great fan service!"

Before she could finish speaking, Park Jihyo slapped her arm.

"Unnie, you can't say that!"

Park Jihyo lowered her voice, glancing out of the corner of her eye at the curious glances cast at her by those who were watching because of the commotion in the cafeteria.

Lim Nayeon stuck out her tongue and whispered, "Sorry, I won't make a fuss anymore," then waved to Kang Young-tae, signaling them to continue eating.

The commotion subsided temporarily, but the atmosphere at Jiang Yongtai's table subtly changed.

Yu Dingyan picked up her water glass, her gaze sweeping back and forth between Jiang Yongtai's calm face and Ming Jingnan's slightly unnatural expression, sensing that something was amiss.

She wanted to lighten the mood with a joke, so she made a lighthearted remark.

"Does PD only like Mina? What about the others? Are they just solo fans?"

Upon hearing this, Sana Minatozaki snapped out of her daze.

She hadn't expected Jiang Yongtai to reveal his name anyway.

Although what happened in his apartment that night made her realize that Jiang Yongtai hadn't completely let go, he certainly wouldn't tell her to avoid suspicion.

But she never expected him to say Mina!

Minatozaki Sana narrowed her eyes slightly and glanced at Mina, who had become somewhat "shy" because of Jiang Yongtai's "confession".

Mina must be very troubled.

She and Jiang Yongtai seemed to have no connection on the surface, yet she still helped her curse Jiang Yongtai, and cursed him so horribly...

Hearing Jiang Yongtai say that now, he's probably so embarrassed he doesn't know what to do.

Jiang Yongtai met Yu Dingyan's gaze, glanced at Mingan's expression out of the corner of his eye, and guessed that she was willing to cooperate with him to end the topic that she had started.

He breathed a sigh of relief, reached under the table and patted the back of her hand resting on the stool, silently thanking her.

Then he looked at Yoo Jeongyeon again and told her the real reason why he became Once.

"I'm not a solo fan, but Mina was the first member of Twice who attracted me. I really like Mina's vibe."

This statement is true...

Before Sana Minatozaki could process what he said, her foot had already stepped on him hard, hitting Kang Young-tae's instep squarely.

Jiang Yongtai gasped.

"……hiss."

Yoo Jeongyeon looked at him in confusion, "What's wrong, PD-nim?"

"N-nothing, I just kicked the table leg."

Jiang Yongtai glanced at the look in Minatozaki Sana's eyes that seemed to want to kill him on the spot, and told a lie.

Yu Dingyan was even more puzzled.

Table leg? The space under this table is so wide, how could you kick it?

She didn't press further, turning her gaze to Mina, and then noticed that she seemed somewhat flustered by the fan's direct affection.

The strange atmosphere that he had just tried to shift had not dissipated; in fact, it had intensified.

Could it be that this PD Kang Young-tae actually likes Mina?

After hearing Jiang Yongtai's words, Mina became even more "shy," maintaining her usual public persona, and responded softly:

"Yes, thank you for your kind words, PD-nim."

But a foot emerged from under the table, and Jiang Yongtai's foot, which had just been stepped on by Minatozaki Sana, suffered another severe blow.

This time, he held back his words, but his brows furrowed tightly as he lowered his head and buried himself in his food, trying to hide the barely concealed expression on his face.

He smiled bitterly to himself. He could understand Saka stepping on him, but why was Nan-chan stepping on him? Didn't we just discuss this?

The others remained silent for the next few minutes, and Sana Minato suddenly realized she had lost her appetite.

She looked at the plate, which still had more than half a plate of food left, put down her chopsticks, and stood up.

"I've finished eating, please enjoy your meal."

She turned to Mina, wanting to take her away from the scene that made her feel so uncomfortable.

"Mina, wanna go get some coffee?"

Mina looked up at her, smiled, and shook her head.

"You go first, Sana. I haven't finished eating yet. I'll come find you later."

Sana Minato looked at her smiling face and remained silent for a second before giving up.

She turned to Jiang Yongtai, her expression returning to normal.

"PD-nim, thank you for your hard work today. We don't have practice tomorrow, so I'll go to tvN to find you~"

Jiang Yongtai looked up at her, but his heart skipped a beat.

"Okay, Sana-xi, just send me a text message before you come, and I'll come down to meet you."

"Inside."

Sana Minatozaki bowed slightly, picked up her plate, and turned to leave, her orange curly hair swaying gently with each step.

Yu Dingyan finished eating, put her bowl and chopsticks back on her plate, and stood up with a smile.

"PD-nim, I've finished eating too. I have practice later, so I need to rest for a bit. I won't keep you company any longer."

She turned her head and winked at Mina, "Mina, could you deliver this to the PD for me? Consider it a fan service."

Yoo Jeong-yeon felt that Mina was usually too dull and lacked ambition.

Having this opportunity to get to know the broadcasting station's producer is not a bad thing for her.

Jiang Yongtai smiled and waved his hand, "Thank you for today, Jeongyeon-ssi, but I can walk by myself..."

"Okay~"

Minami looked up and readily agreed.

"Unnie, you go and rest. I'll see PD-nim out."

Yu Dingyan nodded in satisfaction, bowed slightly to Jiang Yongtai, and left with her tray.

Suddenly, only Mina and Kang Young-tae were left at the table, and the noise in the cafeteria seemed to be separated by a layer.